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Saturday, May 3, 2014

On 26th of December 2013 jackal female was removed by hunter near Jelgava close to Lielupe River in central Latvia. (The news appeared on 9th of January 2014, click on image below).

This news is not surprising GOJAGE, as we have already estimated this dispersal route in spring 2013 after BALTICA 2013, wildlife survey in Matsalu Natural Park West Estonia, when we tried to explain jackal dispersal movements for this region.

And why a dispersal movement so elusive and chaotic at first sight? Is not at all in my opinion. If we look around Jelgava, the hunting terrain where this report have been done, we can easy observe that again, as in Matsalu case, we found one of the most important locations for migrating water birds in terms of rest and feeding in Latvia, which is the Svēte flood-land, which overflows in the spring time, along with the Svēte polder. It has been calculated that when circumstances are good, tens of thousands of birds can be seen in the area – swans, geese, corn-crakes, pintails, predatory birds, plover-type birds, etc. This is Svetes paliene Nature Park.

Canis aureus, first specimen removed in Latvia

Canis aureus and Vulpes vulpes

Experience shows now, that sumation of hunting terrains (high anthropogenic pressure as favoring biological resources and drill cuttings after hunting session) in winter together with wetlands where waders, geese, migratory birds are seen or where they are hunting birds, which produce easy prey like birds shot down by hunters and uncollected, represents the stepping stones most used by jackals for their large dispersal and elusive movements to the limit of their homerange. If we add bad management of waste dumps and abandoned cattle and livestock in open fields without being closed, with the loss of placentas in spring we have to be ready to find jackal as new mammals species on this natural areas.

But not only jackals are moving their homerange. Birds also, example is this Himantopus photographed by Janis Kuze on Lake Lubans in Latvia in 2013.

I saw it last week on Llobregat River Delta, small delta near Barcelona. From our observations, jackals have been recorded in areas with waders such as lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) in Danube Delta (here)

Knowing that jackals are not good hunters, being more opportunistic, I suggest waterfowls are more suitable to be part of jackal diet, especially Pelicans and Cormorants carcasses (personal observations) but an exhaustive study addressed to the topic of predation on ground nesting birds should be considered in future, before any measure of management which incriminates jackal species as being responsible of ecosystem disturbances where it is still catallogated as allochtonous species.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

The third hunted jackal in Estonia has led to a number of natural scientists of the opinion that this species may have reached Estonia in a natural way, and that crowding as alien species can not be justified.

Zoologist Matti Masing is the first Estonian scientist who said that jackal does not cause major ecological disturbances to ecosystems and according to studies and reports from other countries, there were no reported dangers, referring to the third specimen killed in Parnu County in western Estonia on December 9, 2013.

Zoologist Alexei Turovski said the Jackal was not settled in, and that "we would have more wolves and jackal crowding is more justified."

Natural colonization of the country is subject of discussions in Estonia, human introduced species hypothesis being now on second place.

Estonia's current official position is that the Jackal poses a threat to ground-nesting birds and small mammals, and may thus endanger the protected species. In September 2013 the government issued a decree allowing the hunting of the species, considered as being alien.

Hunting of Canis aureus in Estonia is still allowed in base of the recent decree during 1st Oct - 30th March period.

When hunting is performed on jackal territorial groups, after missing of the alfa pair, jackals could increase their number due to interaction between young adults of adiacent groups as in case of foxes (more about territoriality, here)

The hunting of the first two specimens of Canis aureus in Estonia occurred in February and August 2013 (here).